COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The name of Strom Thurmond's biracial daughter was added Thursday to his monument on the Statehouse grounds — further public acknowledgment of what had once been a closely held secret.
It took two hours to engrave "Essie Mae" under the names of the late senator's four children with his second wife, Nancy.
"We are excited to no end, and we are so grateful that it moves one to tears of joy and gratitude," said Frank Wheaton, attorney for Essie Mae Washington Williams.
Williams was not available for comment, he said.
The General Assembly passed legislation in May to add Williams' name to Thurmond's statue, which was erected in the late 1990s and shows the one-time segregationist at around age 60, at the peak of his political career.
Thurmond was 22 when Williams, now 78, was born to a 16-year-old black maid working at his family's Edgefield home.
Williams knew Thurmond was her father for decades but — not wanting to harm his career — kept silent until after his death in June.